ὄλεθρος

See also: όλεθρος

Ancient Greek

Etymology

From Proto-Hellenic *óletʰros, from Proto-Indo-European *h₃elh₁dʰros, from *h₃elh₁- (“to destroy”). Cognate with ὄλλῡμῐ (óllūmi).

Pronunciation

 

• IPA^(key): /ó.le.tʰros/ → /ˈo.le.θros/ → /ˈo.le.θros/

• (5^th BCE Attic) IPA^(key): /ó.le.tʰros/
• (1^st CE Egyptian) IPA^(key): /ˈo.le.tʰros/
• (4^th CE Koine) IPA^(key): /ˈo.le.θros/
• (10^th CE Byzantine) IPA^(key): /ˈo.le.θros/
• (15^th CE Constantinopolitan) IPA^(key): /ˈo.le.θros/

Noun

ὄλεθρος • (ólethros) m (genitive ὀλέθρου); second declension

1. ruin, destruction, death, bane
   • 800 BCE – 600 BCE, Homer, Odyssey 1.1–12:

     ἔνθ’ ἄλλοι μὲν πάντες, ὅσοι φύγον αἰπὺν ὄλεθρον,
     οἴκοι ἔσαν, πόλεμόν τε πεφευγότες ἠδὲ θάλασσαν·

     énth’ álloi mèn pántes, hósoi phúgon aipùn ólethron,
     oíkoi ésan, pólemón te pepheugótes ēdè thálassan;

     then all the others, who had fled headlong destruction,
     were at home, having escaped war and the sea

2. causing destruction: pest, plague
   • 750 BCE – 650 BCE, Hesiod, Theogony 326–327:

     ἣ δ’ ἄρα Φῖκ’ ὀλοὴν τέκε Καδμείοισιν ὄλεθρον
     Ὅρθῳ ὑποδμηθεῖσα Νεμειαῖόν τε λέοντα

     hḕ d’ ára Phîk’ oloḕn téke Kadmeíoisin ólethron
     Hórthōi hupodmētheîsa Nemeiaîón te léonta

     But then she, subdued by Orthus, gave birth to the ruinous Sphinx, a plague to the Cadmeans, and the Nemean lion

   1. As a contemptuous name applied to a person.
      • 425 BCE, Aristophanes, Lysistrata 325:

        πέτου πέτου Νικοδίκη,
        πρὶν ἐμπεπρῆσθαι Καλύκην
        τε καὶ Κρίτυλλαν περιφυσήτω
        ὑπό τε νόμων ἀργαλέων
        ὑπό τε γερόντων ὀλέθρων.

        pétou pétou Nikodíkē,
        prìn empeprêsthai Kalúkēn
        te kaì Krítullan periphusḗtō
        hupó te nómōn argaléōn
        hupó te geróntōn oléthrōn.

        • 1912 translation by The Athenian Society

          Fly, fly, Nicodicé, ere Calycé and Crityllé perish in the fire, or are stifled in the smoke raised by these accursed old men and their pitiless laws.

      • 341 BCE, Demosthenes, Third Philippic 31:

        ἀλλ᾽ ὀλέθρου Μακεδόνος, ὅθεν οὐδ᾽ ἀνδράποδον σπουδαῖον οὐδὲν ἦν πρότερον πρίασθαι.

        all᾽ oléthrou Makedónos, hóthen oud᾽ andrápodon spoudaîon oudèn ên próteron príasthai.

        • Translation by Sir Arthur Wallace Pickard-Cambridge (1873–1952)

          he is a pestilent Macedonian, from whose country it used not to be possible to buy even a slave of any value.

Usage notes

In the Iliad and Odyssey, this word is very often found in the phrase αἰπὺς ὄλεθρος (aipùs ólethros, “headlong destruction”), as in the first example above.

Declension

Second declension of ὁ ὄλεθρος; τοῦ ὀλέθρου (Attic)

Case / #	Singular	Dual	Plural
Nominative	ὁ ὄλεθρος ho ólethros	τὼ ὀλέθρω tṑ oléthrō	οἱ ὄλεθροι hoi ólethroi
Genitive	τοῦ ὀλέθρου toû oléthrou	τοῖν ὀλέθροιν toîn oléthroin	τῶν ὀλέθρων tôn oléthrōn
Dative	τῷ ὀλέθρῳ tôi oléthrōi	τοῖν ὀλέθροιν toîn oléthroin	τοῖς ὀλέθροις toîs oléthrois
Accusative	τὸν ὄλεθρον tòn ólethron	τὼ ὀλέθρω tṑ oléthrō	τοὺς ὀλέθρους toùs oléthrous
Vocative	ὄλεθρε ólethre	ὀλέθρω oléthrō	ὄλεθροι ólethroi
Notes:	This table gives Attic inflectional endings. For declension in other dialects, see Appendix:Ancient Greek dialectal declension.

Descendants

• Greek: όλεθρος (ólethros)

References

• ὄλεθρος in Cunliffe, Richard J. (1924) A Lexicon of the Homeric Dialect: Expanded Edition, Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, published 1963
• “ὄλεθρος”, in Liddell & Scott (1940) A Greek–English Lexicon, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• ὄλεθρος in Bailly, Anatole (1935) Le Grand Bailly: Dictionnaire grec-français, Paris: Hachette